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Gubernatorial hopeful Blackwell speaks at local GOP headquarters

Stephany Schings, Senior Staff Writer

To help invigorate voters from one of his most supportive counties on Election Day, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell held a rally Saturday afternoon at the Butler County Republican Party headquarters in Hamilton, Ohio.

Close to 100 people arrived at the headquarters at 9 a.m. Saturday to pick up leaflets and other literature to pass out that morning, about half returning in the afternoon to await the arrival of Blackwell's campaign bus.

This was the third "Super Saturday" event the Butler County Republican party has had in the last three weeks, according to Thomas Ellis, chairman of the Butler County Republican Party.

A Nov. 5 poll released by the University of Cincinnati showed Blackwell trailing his opponent, Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) by 22 percentage points, with a margin of error of 3 percent. Considering these recent poll numbers, Ellis agreed that Butler County is extremely important to Blackwell's campaign

"This is very unusual for us because we've usually always been on the top side of the poll, so we aren't relishing that," Ellis said. "That just means we have to drive those voters out."

About 50 people attended the rally, including members of Miami University's College Republicans, a group from Southern Utah University and some Republican Party members from Washington, D.C.

Ellis said he was happy with the turnout, especially considering the number of volunteers who have contributed to contacting between 28,000 and 30,000 voters in the last seven weeks through making phone calls and knocking on doors.

Rob Mecklenborg, president of Miami's College Republicans, said the Blackwell rally helped get the volunteers and Republican supporters there excited for the election after weeks of working to get the word out on the party.

"It's really neat because there are so many people in the community and the Miami Republicans who have been working so hard since June to get these people elected and some of these people, it's the first time seeing them ... and so it's nice for them to see these candidates come out and value the support of the volunteers," Mecklenborg said.

At the rally, Blackwell stressed the importance of both the volunteers and Butler County as a whole to the campaign.

"My strategy has been to work back to my strength, to work back to the heartland of my support base," Blackwell said. "Butler County is the heartland of my support base."

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Blackwell compared this election to that of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George Bush in 2004 and how Republican voters turned out to vote at that time.

"We know how to get our votes out, and in November of 1980 you delivered this county, we delivered Ohio, and with Ronald Reagan at the helm, we were able to usher in what he called the new morning in America," he said.

Blackwell said that if Republicans in Butler County come out to vote on Election Day, it would turn out other Republicans.

"I'm asking just like Ronald Reagan and George Bush, for you to deliver Butler County, because if you deliver Butler County, it will in fact drive the vote in southwest Ohio and drive it right up to the western part of the state and bounce back down to the central part of the state, and let me tell you what happens: We win this race."

Ellis said that four counties - Butler, Blackwell's hometown of Hamilton, Warren and Clermont counties - serve as Blackwell's base from which they are really trying to drive out Republican voters.

"They are absolutely critical to offset those large Democratic turnouts in places like Cuyahoga County," Ellis said.

Blackwell emphasized the importance of grassroots efforts by volunteers in making sure people get out to vote.

"Elections are about one-day sales; they are about getting people out on one day (to vote)," Blackwell said.

Blackwell said the volunteers are vital to strengthening these efforts.

"You are the heart of the county," he said to the volunteers at the rally. "You are the new epicenter of the strength of the party."

Ellis said the party has gotten a lot of help from college students, such as the Miami College Republicans, in addition to the usual party members who volunteer.

"The college kids, they have been absolutely critical," Ellis said. "They have made so many calls; they have been so supportive."

Ellis said students and other young volunteers help keep the effort diverse, because the Republican Party is a varied one in Butler County.

"Butler County has a tremendous amount of Republicans, but we aren't just a party of 'country club Republicans,'" he said.

Ellis said volunteers have spent a lot time "chasing" absentee voters in addition to encouraging traditional voters to turn out.

The party spent a lot of time to get "absentee chasers," Ellis said, who look at lists of people who applied for absentee ballots, and call them to make sure they fill them out and send them the ballots in, and also send voters literature about the Republican Party.

Ellis said the absentee chasers have been important in mobilizing Republicans because of the large number of absentee voters in

this election.

"We have 12,000 absentee ballots that came in to Butler County," Ellis said. "Normally we might have 5,000."

In addition to the rally Saturday, Senator Mike DeWine held a pizza party Friday evening and Republican Betty Montgomery, attorney general hopeful, visited the headquarters Saturday night.

Ellis said DeWine's party was also successful, with about 100 people in attendance.

Mecklenborg said DeWine and his wife, who he brought with him, felt at home with supporters in Butler County.

"They were both Miami graduates, so they were very happy to see us out there," Mecklenborg said.